The abovementioned road markings have been known for many years. The reflecting materials used are preferably glass beads or ceramic materials which are embedded in a binder in the marking but which protrude above the surface of the binder so that light can hit them and can be reflected back to the driver of a vehicle. These glass beads, as well as the binder, can have different compositions, but they are preferably made so that they reflect visible light.
The remainder of the roadway outside of these road markings must have as high a friction as possible in relation to the wheels of the vehicles driving on the road. However, a road marking generally consisting of thermoplastic with glass beads applied to the road surface creates a lower friction on this marking than on the rest of the road surface, for which reason it is also customary to apply a friction-enhancing material in or on the road marking. This material often consists of crushed glass, corundum or other stone material.
When applying both reflecting material and friction material, however, a problem arises because there is considerably poorer visibility in the dark compared to those cases where only reflecting material has been applied. The poorer visibility is caused by the fact that the friction particles shade the light from vehicles so that there is less possibility of the light being reflected back to the vehicle drivers.